tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6464483192473464743.post3915715249926927980..comments2024-03-01T03:50:30.073-05:00Comments on Unsung Symphonies: Fun with Scales: Furtwängler's Second SymphonyMugshothttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04118832685122190192noreply@blogger.comBlogger7125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6464483192473464743.post-65474085079184147762015-09-16T21:43:21.925-04:002015-09-16T21:43:21.925-04:00It is interesting to note that having worked in Ge...It is interesting to note that having worked in Germany during the Third Reich is always considered "shady", "uncomfortably close to a Nazi sympathizer", etc. <br />If the musician had worked under the socialist regime of Stalin and associates, that never raises an eyebrow. Many fine Russian, Ukrainian, Georgian, etc. musicians made a living performing during the worst genocides in recorded history committed by the Soviet Communists, but that does not attach any onus to the musician who kept producing music that was pleasant to the ear of the satraps in Moscow. Soviet musicians who did not toe the Communist Party’s view on the function of art (to serve the proletariat), were at times marginalized and therefore victimized. However, I am yet to read an account about a Soviet musician having withheld his art in protest of crimes committed against others.<br />As for Furtwängler’symphony, I do not find it Wagnerian or Brucknerian, except perhaps for the vastness of the score. Large ideas sometimes require large containers. Furtwängler has his own tonal idiom. This symphony is a masterpiece that deserves to be more widely known.<br />Murnauhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15999862430509396415noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6464483192473464743.post-73099771380766781942013-02-19T13:33:57.254-05:002013-02-19T13:33:57.254-05:00Thanks, Wilbur! Very interesting.Thanks, Wilbur! Very interesting.Mugshothttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04118832685122190192noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6464483192473464743.post-16050896404329905082013-02-19T12:57:53.214-05:002013-02-19T12:57:53.214-05:00There's a story with the cover art. Furtwangle...There's a story with the cover art. Furtwangler had a planned tour in 1945 which was cancelled due to political circumstances which are easy to understand. One of the emphasis of the tour-to-be was a series of concerts with the Chicago Symphony Orchestra. The very symphony is rumoured to be planned in the concerts. The aerial photo is the Chicago cityscape of the exact year. It is quoted roughly as "this is what Furtwangler may have seen if he made the trip" in the announcement of the CD release. I cannot find the original article of this. But this is what I remember from reading it. Looks a bit boring I admit, but the story convinces.Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01852797345382127287noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6464483192473464743.post-36837242710714821382010-08-31T01:14:17.720-04:002010-08-31T01:14:17.720-04:00Actualy, I'm not sure about the cover art, or ...Actualy, I'm not sure about the cover art, or what this symphony has to do with cityscapes. My suspicion is that showing a modern, 20th-century city will somehow make Furtwängler seem like a modern, 20th-century composer. The people who design these covers need to get a lot more creative.Mugshothttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04118832685122190192noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6464483192473464743.post-81151864028846162712010-08-31T01:12:05.063-04:002010-08-31T01:12:05.063-04:00That's what I'd like to know about it.That's what I'd like to know about it.Mugshothttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04118832685122190192noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6464483192473464743.post-66529134811781818372010-08-29T10:06:48.973-04:002010-08-29T10:06:48.973-04:00Cool analysis.Sounds like Furtwängler was trying t...Cool analysis.Sounds like Furtwängler was trying to rehabilitate musical scales after the mockery of Saint-Saens' Carnival of the Animals "Pianistes." Any idea what's going on with the Barenboim recording cover art?Frank Lehmanhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12932507223420413511noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6464483192473464743.post-61609165002281616652010-08-24T14:02:53.235-04:002010-08-24T14:02:53.235-04:00Gotta tell you, I thought "Furtwangler? Reall...Gotta tell you, I thought "Furtwangler? Really?" when I saw this title. But I was pleasantly surprised by what I heard, and your useful analysis. I shall check it out further!Emily Anoreply@blogger.com